A bill has been filed in New York that would make it one. State Assemblyman Ed Braunstein was inspired by a story about a man whose death was recorded by the real-life medical series NY Med without permission. His widow recognized her husband while watching the show on TV.

In a recently filed lawsuit, Ebola-infected nurse Nina Pham says that a colleague videotaped her without her permission and then the hospital she was treated in released the tape to the media, violating her privacy.

Non-profit hospitals get big tax breaks for providing care for patients who can’t afford it. Under new IRS rules these hospitals must take extra steps to inform poor patients they may qualify for financial assistance.

Surgery is a fundamentally messy and stressful activity. When being a few millimeters off target can be life-changing, a surgeon needs to possess fierce concentration, unrelenting perfectionism, and, above all, staunch self-assurance.

Medicare paid for more than 200 million office visits for established patients in 2012. Overall, health professionals classified only four percent as complex enough to command the most expensive rates. But 1,800 providers billed at the top level at least 90 percent of the time. Experts question whether the charges are legitimate.

Surveys suggest most doctors and nurses understand the significant safety issues associated with the use of cell phones and laptops during surgery. But that’s not stopping them from pulling out the distracting devices.

A study by Medicare’s inspector general of skilled nursing facilities says nearly 22,000 patients were injured and more than 1,500 died in a single month—a higher rate of medical errors than hospitals.